Albert (MacFarlane), a sheep farmer, is a coward, a chatterbox, and consequently, the only decent citizen in his tiny town, forced to endure the ignorance and unsanitary conditions of the Wild West every day. To top it off, after another shameful duel, he’s dumped by the local beauty (Seyfried). The poor guy seriously considers moving, but then a charming lady (Theron) with a good sense of humor and a habit of shooting with both hands appears in the area.
Seth MacFarlane is an amazingly versatile man. In addition to two outstanding animated series where he works as a director and screenwriter, while also voicing everything that moves, he records music albums, sings accompanied by a whole orchestra (mainly Sinatra and his “Rat Pack” repertoire), periodically comments on politics on TV, and organizes theatrical evenings in his own name. As one of his fans once wrote on YouTube, “Seth is so cool that I would get pregnant from him and even have an abortion if he asked.” And this is exactly the kind of humor that you usually don’t find in other authors.
A Critical Look at “A Million Ways to Die in the West”
Critics who watched “A Million Ways to Die in the West” are competing to scold the acting abilities of its creator and, of course, the dramaturgy. As if they didn’t understand what they were about to watch! The man who once turned the anecdotal “a horse walks into a bar” into a full-fledged short film, quite logically didn’t bother with the acting method, but stuffed a typical modern-day inhabitant into the scenery of an uncomfortable frontier. Moreover, an inhabitant with a penchant for obsessive stand-up. To condemn or praise MacFarlane for this is as pointless as asking Woody Allen to abandon the jazz soundtrack, or Michael Bay to abandon explosions. There is such a thing as a creative method. In most of the dialogues in “A Million Ways,” it’s hard not to suspect an improvisational nature, and when one of the best Hollywood actresses, Charlize Theron, repeatedly breaks into laughter that is completely uncharacteristic of her character, it seems that she simply “cracks up,” unable to withstand the given degree of absurdity. Cowboy dwarves, eating cookies with dope in the Grand Canyon, dancing sheep, where else would you see this?
Expectations vs. Reality
The disappointed expectations are partly to blame on MacFarlane’s brilliant debut, “Ted” (apparently, in our прокате, distorting the titles of Seth’s films has become a good tradition) - streamlined, genre-based, with a moral at the end, it earned half a billion, managing to fit into Hollywood standards, even while waving joints and screwing a chocolate bar. This time, there will be no plot, no genre framework, and this will inevitably disappoint someone. On the other hand, many people know how to joke well and sharply now. MacFarlane, however, has a unique talent for selflessly “driving.” This amazing flight of fantasy, equating racist jokes with liberal values, and serious romance with a toilet, constitutes the main product of his diversified factory. And unlike the clearly structured story about a swearing bear, in “A Million Ways,” he “drives” from beginning to end. And therefore, everyone who prefers the schizophrenic rage of “Family Guy” to the benevolent “Simpsons” is guaranteed two hours of well-deserved happiness.